Chapter 2 Invitation

Chapter 2: The Invitation

Shen Jiyue got scammed right in his own home.

— This was a meticulously planned scam.

"How's the injury healing? Moving to the old estate to recover is a good call; it's peaceful there. Oh, by the way, I heard from the old man that your deadbeat second uncle's been stirring things up lately. He's probably up to no good again. Watch your back." His friend's words from yesterday were still ringing in his ears.

Shen Jiyue was discharged from the hospital the day before yesterday, and yesterday he decided on a whim to move to the old estate. Hardly anyone knew where he was, let alone enough to pull off a hit this precise.

Combined with the news from his friend, it took Shen Jiyue all of two seconds to figure out where this scam came from.

He looked down at the soaking-wet man in his arms, shivering, his limbs ice-cold from being out in the rain too long. The hairs on his wrist, where the man was gripping him, stood on end—from the cold.

"Sir, should I call someone..." The butler stepped out and saw his employer—always so serious and a total germaphobe—holding a stranger in his arms. The man had even soaked his employer's clothes. The butler was so startled he nearly jumped out of his skin, his voice cracking.

Ah! My high-paying, cushy job, my blissful retirement plans, my spotless record—

"No need. Call a doctor."

The employer's icy voice sounded like music to his ears in that moment!

...

Out of basic human decency, Shen Jiyue had the butler bring the man inside and called a doctor. The doctor said the guy passed out from low blood sugar and being out in the rain too long.

Even though the doctor ruled out him faking it, Shen Jiyue still didn't think this was an accident. What are the odds? The male lead steps out and instantly collides with the female lead—that's some TV drama nonsense. In real life, getting bumped into means you're either unlucky or being played.

And Shen Jiyue hadn't even stepped out before being scammed. A scheme so laughable it made you question the guy's IQ—besides his dumb, scheming second uncle, there was no one else on earth this brainless.

First, the guy showed up exactly one day after he moved in, like he'd been lying in wait for the chance.

Second, without a key or anyone letting him in, he somehow made it all the way here without tripping the alarm.

Third, the guy has low blood sugar, and he still refused to use an umbrella in a downpour like that, and after being out in the rain so long, he just "happened" to pass out from hunger right in front of him. Either he's an idiot or he's got an agenda.

Plus, the security cameras inside and outside the estate just "happened" to break an hour ago, catching nothing.

And last but not least, he was way too good-looking.

Shen Jiyue let out a breath and glanced at the footage from the one working camera at the gate, which the butler had sent over. The frame was frozen on Xiang Wei's face—so beautiful it was almost otherworldly.

On screen, the guy tilted his head up, his hair plastered to his scalp in a total disaster from the rain, yet it only made his killer bone structure stand out even more.

He casually glanced at the camera, his amber-gold eyes locking with the viewer's from across the distance. When his eyes shifted, the patterns in his irises seemed to ripple like tiny scales, like some spirit born from the rain—stunningly captivating, yet carrying this eerie, otherworldly disregard for everything.

This was a face so flawless that no one—male or female—could find a single thing wrong with it.

Even though he was used to seeing gorgeous people left and right in the glitz-and-glamour world, the moment he opened the door and laid eyes on Xiang Wei, Shen Jiyue was still knocked speechless for a solid two seconds.

He didn't even have to think to guess what kind of scheme Shen Huaiping was cooking up by going through all that trouble to find someone as good-looking as Xiang Wei to send his way.

Ever since he'd taken the Shen Corporation back from Shen Huaiping and taken control as an adult, Shen Jiyue had been surrounded by all kinds of good-looking men and women—some who came to him on their own looking to climb the ladder, some sent by people trying to suck up to him, and some planted by rivals to stir up trouble.

It wasn't until Shen Jiyue made an example out of a business partner who'd sent a drugged-up young starlet to his bed that people finally backed off.

And now, it looked like Shen Huaiping had been lying low for a while, but seeing him injured, he couldn't help himself anymore. Hah, he even took his leg injury into account and deliberately sent a guy over. Shen Jiyue almost wanted to applaud the shady scheme he'd cooked up with his ass.

Keeping Xiang Wei around wasn't just out of a twinge of conscience—it was also so Shen Jiyue could catch Shen Huaiping slipping up. Out of consideration for the old man's weak heart, Shen Jiyue had only given Shen Huaiping a beating after taking back the company, nothing more extreme than that.

But if Shen Huaiping didn't appreciate his leniency and tried to push his buttons, he wouldn't mind shipping him off overseas.

As he thought about the stupid stuff his dumb second uncle had pulled, his gaze drifted to the "portrait shot" frozen on the computer screen. He paused, then expressionlessly shut down the computer.

What a waste of a pretty face—couldn't even come up with a decent excuse. If Shen Huaiping knew the first thing out of his mouth would be that, he'd probably rather have sent someone less pretty but with a brain.

The second he opened his mouth, he blew the lid off Shen Huaiping's whole spy network, even knowing all the details about the snake eggs his friend had sent over a few days ago. Was he genuinely an idiot, or was he playing dumb on purpose to lower his guard?

After mulling it over, Shen Jiyue still decided Xiang Wei was just a pretty face with nothing inside. After all, spilling that kind of intel might lower his guard toward Xiang Wei a bit, but it raised his alertness against Shen Huaiping—more harm than good.

"Mmm."

As if sensing Shen Jiyue was talking about him, Xiang Wei, hooked up to the IV, let out a dissatisfied murmur in his sleep.

Shen Jiyue turned at the sound but didn't catch a glimpse of those yellow eyes. He shifted his hand slightly, and the grip around his wrist only got tighter.

Well, not the sharpest tool, but he remembered his mission loud and clear—once he latched on, he wasn't letting go.

"Mr. Shen, I'm here to change this gentleman's IV bag." The doctor knocked and entered.

A fresh drip bag was hung up shortly after. The doctor looked at the two of them, hands still clasped together, and said with a smile, "You and your friend are really close, huh."

Seeing the doctor had the wrong idea, Shen Jiyue didn't bother correcting him, just hummed in acknowledgment.

It wasn't that they were close—it was that Xiang Wei was freakishly strong. They'd barely managed to pry one hand loose, and the more they tried to pry the other, the tighter he held on. In the end, they just had to work around it and set up the IV like this.

After asking a few questions about his leg injury, the doctor gave his instructions and headed out.

Only then did Shen Jiyue look down and size up this uninvited guest. His looks didn't need any more commentary, but there was something else off about the guy—what normal person who passed out from hunger still had this much strength?

He curled a finger and tapped the back of the man's hand. The death grip loosened a little, no longer clenched so tight.

He moved his wrist, and the hand clenched again. Tap, and it loosened up...

Who else could still be that aware while passed out?

Shen Jiyue let out a scoff and stopped paying the man any mind. There was plenty of time anyway; he didn't mind playing along with a scheming liar who'd gone to all that trouble to latch onto him, at least until he figured out what Shen Huaiping was really after.

If he dared to take on Shen Huaiping's little mission, then let him see what he was really made of.

...

Xiang Wei was dreaming.

This was the first time he was so clearly aware he was dreaming—it was a new experience.

Unlike the usual scenes set in big mansions, this time he was on a mountain peak, surrounded by pale pink and white plum blossoms. When the wind blew, the petals rained down like a shower of plum blossoms.

In the dream, he'd shifted back into his snake form, coiled around the arm of a long-haired man in flowing robes, playing happily. Maybe because it was his first time wrapping around a living person, he hadn't held back his strength well, and the pale skin underneath was marked with faint red lines.

The man curled his finger and tapped him on the head—not hard, but full of affection. The snake raised its head to look at him, loosened its body, and peered down at the reddened skin, hissing.

Xiang Wei knew what it was saying. This snake, which looked just like him, was saying sorry—that it wouldn't squeeze so tight next time. So the long-haired man made a quiet pact with him: whenever he tapped the little snake, the snake would know it was squeezing too hard and ease up.

Mm, humans were so fragile, so easy to hurt.

Xiang Wei only realized it wasn't him once the little snake in the dream spoke up. Oh, he'd wandered into another snake's dream again, and this time he was fully immersed, possessing it.

This was rare too. In past dreams, he'd often drifted as an observer, sometimes turning into a tree, a flower, a mirror... like a guest dropping by another snake's dream.

But this time, he'd actually become another snake.

Because the sense of involvement was so strong, he instinctively loosened his grip along with the dream figure's taps, but deep down, he remembered he was holding onto the hand of that egg-stealing bad human and couldn't let go, or else the eggs would vanish again.

Tap, tap—humans are so fragile, can't squeeze too tight, ease up—wobble, wobble—no, the egg thief's getting away, squeeze tighter—tap, tap—humans are so fragile.

...

Xiang Wei came to groggily, feeling like he'd forgotten something. He thought hard for a moment, then remembered—oh, right, had the snake just been dreaming?

Ever since he'd taken human form, he dreamed almost every night once he fell asleep. It was only later, during one of those dreams, that Xiang Wei overheard humans telling stories and learned this was called inherited memory! It was a legacy from elders of his kind to those who came after, something only great demons who'd cultivated human form could have. The snake was a great demon; the snake was awesome!

The snake, of course, ignored the second half of the explanation—"This is an innate advantage of divine beasts and auspicious creatures"—and gave himself a little more praise before contentedly opening his eyes.

Xiang Wei stayed motionless in his sleeping position. Ah, this awesome snake had been studying too hard in dreams lately; this snake's so sleepy, time to space out for a while.

"How much longer are you going to hold on?"

A cold voice jerked Xiang Wei back from wherever his thoughts had drifted. He blinked in a daze and saw the egg thief glancing at their intertwined hands.

Oh, so soft, so warm, so smooth... So this is what a human hand feels like. No wonder little snakes love coiling around human hands. Xiang Wei felt like he'd stumbled onto some earth-shattering secret.

As he stared at the other man's hand, fascinated, Xiang Wei didn't notice Shen Jiyue's gaze turning weirder and weirder, with a faint hint of pity.

Only after he'd had his fill did Xiang Wei let go, reluctantly. In the dream, the snake got to wrap around a human hand all the time—he'd only gotten to hold one once!

But at the thought of getting his snake egg back, Xiang Wei cheered up again. Once the little snakelet hatched, it could wrap around his hand just like the snake in his dream.

He looked like a human now, too—his hands were soft, warm, and smooth. The little snake could hold on for as long as it wanted! What other snakes had, his little snakelet would have too!

After releasing the human's hand, Xiang Wei stood up, ignoring the house's owner, and followed the scent unceremoniously to where the egg was.

Hmm? Why was the egg locked up?

Xiang Wei reached out to touch the transparent shell, puzzled as to why the egg was inside. But sensing that the egg was slowly recovering its vitality, in much better shape than when it had been stolen, he cautiously refrained from forcibly rescuing it.

What was he supposed to do? If he took the egg out of this shell, would it go bad again? Could he just take the whole thing, shell and all, and bring it back once the little snakelet hatched?

Through his recent studies, he had learned that taking others' belongings without permission was a very bad thing. Xiang Wei guiltily glanced back at the egg thief.

The snake really wants it QAQ.

...